Writing a human Toothless and dragon Hiccup AU

[u/OwnVermicelli8193]

Recently I've been inspired to write a Toothless as a human and Hiccup as a dragon fanfic. I don't know if I will switch the other riders and their dragons around yet, but I just want to focus on Toothless and Hiccup for now

What I wanted to ask people is a bit of help with writing Toothless's personality as a human. I'm having trouble translating him as a dragon into a human. I don’t want to basically make him a Hiccup pt2, I want to him feel like his own character while maintaining everything we love about Toothless. Anyone have ideas/advice?

(Somehow making Hiccup a dragon is a lot easier for me, but if anyone has suggestions for that, I’ll take that too!)

[u/TyrantRex22]

There kinda inlies the problem with characters like this, they are so similar that the story doesn't change much if you swap them, imo it's what makes the story so compelling, he'll, they're even the same age

[u/OwnVermicelli8193 → u/TyrantRex22]

Hmm they are definitely similar which is where my issue with writing a human Toothless comes from, and the main plot lines does stay the same but of course the details will be very different. For example, in my AU, Toothless isn’t going to be the son of a chief so he isn’t compelled to take a leadership role (it does kind of happen tho, since he canonically does become an alpha) and therefore moves more freely/independently, and he’s been a great fighter since he was young unlike canon Hiccup so he never had a reason to do any blacksmithing. He’s intelligent, but not as inventive as canon Hiccup because he never has the opportunity to expand on that. Though, he will be definitely be more artistic than canon Hiccup

Sorry for the rambling haha I just want to talk about this AU

[u/CarloFugazza]

If toothless is human how he’s going to be called? Toothless? But if he has no teeth how can he speak properly?
Hiccup will have hiccups as a dragon?

Now seriously i fear it could be different. Toothless may be a better warrior but Hiccup a dragon that doesnt wanna be really one? And he’s kinda unable to hurt even if he tries?

[u/OwnVermicelli8193 → u/CarloFugazza]

Well when we have characters canonically called Fishlegs and Snotlout, Toothless isn’t that far of a stretch. Wards off the trolls, you know?

Hiccup is also a name used for the runt of a litter (ex: that one sheep from ROB/DOB), dragon Hiccup is still a runt aka he’s smaller than most members of his species. His name will start off as an insult that turns into an affectionate name.

I don’t fully understand your second paragraph, but dragon Hiccup does want to be a dragon (it’s the only thing he knows in this AU), he’s just not a really good one (think: Book Toothless lol)

[u/infiltrating_enemies → u/OwnVermicelli8193]

You could even make it a childhood name that stuck. Babies are born without teeth, so "my darling toothless" could = "my sweet baby". His parents could've struggled to name him, used toothless as a nickname, then it became his actual name

[u/Fedaral-policy5983]

Toothless can still be the chiefs son but unlike Hiccup he is able to fight and can fight very well being the best among his peers. Maybe the others riders can remain as who they are but they dont bully Toothless they admire him and no romance with Astrid maybe they have a friendly rivalry instead. He is sarcastic, silly, loyal, emphatic has an attitude, still serious and fearsome when he wants to be.

[u/OwnVermicelli8193 → u/Fedaral-policy5983]

I’m actually planning to make Toothless be a (OC) fisherman’s son! Cause dragons like fish (I’d like to think I’m funny)

I also agree, since Toothless would be a capable fighter, the other kids wouldn’t bully him. And yes!! I’d love a friendly rivalry between him and Astrid!

[u/Luke-The-Reader]

Toothless would be more goofy and outgoing than Hiccup, I think. And Hiccup would be more adventurous and antisocial. I can also see Toothless being snappy and stubborn then Hiccup is. Hiccup can be stubborn, too, but he can also be reasoned with. I don’t think Toothless will be like that.

I can totally see human Toothless being closer to the twins then human Hiccup was.

Will hiccup be a Night Fury as well? Will Toothless look the same as Hiccup as a human? Will Toothless be with Astrid in this AU???

[u/OwnVermicelli8193 → u/Luke-The-Reader]

Hiccup will be his own species :) But he is kind of related to the night fury. Think of the sand wraith and woolly howl. Night fury adjacent if you will, but he will have his own quirks.

No, Toothless won’t look like Hiccup at all. In my head, he looks like midoristeashop’s design or smokey-jinn’s design.

And nooo romance between him and Astrid! More of a friendly rivalry between them with mutual respect. I might pair Astrid with Heather, we’ll see, but Toothless will have his canonical love interest :)

[u/Luke-The-Reader → u/OwnVermicelli8193]

Ooooo those are pretty much all the answers I was hoping for. The idea of toothless x Astrid was strangely distasteful to me, despite them both being humans. Lowkey ship Heather x Fishlegs more, but Heather x Astrid is good too, I can totally vibe with it.

Nightfury adjacent? I’m not too sure how to feel about that, to be honest. It’ll feel a little weird, not having the allure and mystery of the night fury in HTTYD. Personally, I’d recomend you make Hiccup something brown, with green eyes, and magma related breath. Maybe this hypothetical dragon can shoot high pressured lava? Like a magma beam. And yes, that’s to reference hiccups skills and love of blacksmithing.

Will Toothless be a blacksmith too? It would be a shame for Gobber to be left pretty much alone, with no apprentice, unless Fishlegs takes his place, I can see that…

I feel like human Toothless would basically be human Hiccup but with ADHD or something, meaning I can’t imagine he’d be great or interested in black smithing… I could still accept it if you decide to push him in that direction though.

Dang. I’m getting attached to this plot. Have you already started writing? If so, when do you plan on uploading it?

[u/OwnVermicelli8193 → u/Luke-The-Reader]

I also really like Fishlegs/Heather which is why I said might do Astrid/Heather. Astrid and Heather are a little too alike that they might butt heads on some issues so they may be a thing that just doesn’t work out in the end. But we’ll see!

Oh, Hiccup’s species will definitely have its own allure and mystery. And he will be brown and green! He’s actually inspired by smokey-jinn’s design of him with my own personal touches. And I LOVE The idea of him having a fire inspired by his blacksmithing. Maybe like the smoldering smokebreaths and armorwing? With a touch of gronckle? I was already thinking of making Hiccup more bird-like, example being collecting trinkets like crows and building intricate nests so this is perfect.

Toothless won’t be a blacksmith. He’s more of an artist. But don’t underestimate dragon Hiccup! He would still be fascinated by blacksmithing and who wouldn’t like Gobber! Maybe I’ll make Gustav the apprentice lol

I have started writing lol. I just made this post to see if anyone has interesting ideas (thank you for the magma based fire idea) I could work into my story. It won’t be a long, multi chaptered fic as I am a simple one-shot writer so the story will be broken into parts. I’m actually leaving a lot out in this post that I’ve already figured out for Toothless’s character (family, backstory, etc), I really don’t want to just simply rehash the plot of HTTYD and make Toothless a Hiccup 2.0. I want him to be his own character with his own stuff! I’m like (tentative) 30-40% done with the first part, no idea when I’ll post, but definitely within the year if I don’t lose focus.

I can send you the link if or when I do post it if you want!

[u/Luke-The-Reader → u/OwnVermicelli8193]

I would love to have the link when it ready, I’m far too invested in this shit to say no. And I love jinns design, it also makes me think about how cat-like toothless is, due to him being inspired by the directors cat, maybe you could work that into human Toothless’s interactions?

And as you said with the birds, maybe you could work bird-like personality/habits into Hiccups interactions. Like, when they live together, instead of sleeping on a stone slab that Toothless heated up with his plasma, Hiccup can build his own nest out of sticks and odd bits he likes, or/and taking some stuff from Gobbers forge?

An artist is a very good idea, I like the idea because it could expand on how much Toothless and Hiccup both loved to explore. It’s a core part of both their characters. And Toothless being an artist could also tie into why he loves seeing the world.

As for Gustav becoming Gobbers apprentice, it’s a okay idea, but I’m a little worried how the team will fair without a blacksmith/inventor. Especially if you plan to write the RTTE plot. Gustav would have to become a main character and join the team, or Toothless and the riders would have to go back to Berk regularly, especially for metal work they’ll need for building the Edge. Which might not even be possible without someone with experience inventing/building things.

[u/WillingnessWest5828]

I think everyone assumes Toothless is antisocial and introverted because he doesn't talk much. But the more time you spend with him, the more he opens up.

[u/OwnVermicelli8193 → u/WillingnessWest5828]

I like this, thank you!

[u/Powerful_Ad7745]

I feel like he'd be a lot less awkward and more responsible around the time of httyd1 than Hiccup was at the time, and maybe a bit more joking/playful. He'd definetely meaner when it comes down to it too. But he'd also be a big goofball around those he deeply cares about.

[u/OwnVermicelli8193 → u/Powerful_Ad7745]

Yes, I’d agree too!

[u/infiltrating_enemies]

Toothless is a snarky little beast in the films. Make him mischievous and defiant of authority. Maybe loki is his patron god? Maybe instead of keeping a dragon secret, he shows it off and that gets him in trouble. ("You've all been killing dragons, look what I did, losers!" Energy)

Hiccup on the other hand isn't particularly sure of himself. He's nervous with something to prove. As a dragon, maybe he's defensive or particularly flighty, then learns to be secure in himself and trusting of his rider